Afleveringen
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Some of the music is good. Some is ok. I leveraged my Korean friend's eloquence and polyglot acumen. If you like '70s Korean pop, and some strange covers of KC and the Sunshine Band in different languages, please have a listen.
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The Joseph Consortium (1969) Sides 1 and 2.
Written by Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice, this is the musical that everyone knows, recorded and played through a psychedelic prism. I've played this show on bass about a million times. It's almost identical to the version we all know. It's easy, it goes down nicely, and even the college shows I've played were tight like this.
Wikipedia: Joseph was first presented as a 15-minute "
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Zijn er afleveringen die ontbreken?
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The Blue Cats - Nowhere Man (196?) I'm gonna guess 1966 since this band released three albums of covers of their time plus some instrumental originals. Probably German studio guys bringing the Western hits of the day to their homeland.
Diane and Annita - Groovey Kind of Love (1965) Fans (?) of this release propose that this might not even be the titular singers (who sound nothing like the voices on this recording) but actually the writers, Carol Bayer-Sager and Toni Wine. Annita Ray also recorded a one-off novelty single with Eden Ahbez, the writer of "Nature Boy," in 1956. It was titled "Frankie's Song" b/w "Elvis Presley Blues."
Wikipedia: The melody is from the Rondo from Muzio Clementi's Sonatina, Opus 36, No. 5. Even though Wine and Sager claim full songwriting credits, they mainly wrote the lyrics and just slightly modified Clementi's music. Bayer Sager originally pitched the song to pop star Lesley Gore in early 1965, but Gore's producer at the time, Shelby Singleton, rejected it, as he found the word "groovy" too slangy.
Gene Cotton - Let Your Love Flow (1975)
The Undisputed Truth - Papa Was A Rollin' Stone (1972) This version actually preceded the Grammy-winning version by The Temptations, and the two are pretty similar. The Undisputed Truth had their biggest hit with a song written by Norman Whitfield and Barrett Strong as well, "Smiling Faces Sometimes", which was originally recorded by The Temptations! This is another trivia question you can ask your friend.
Beau Williams - C'est La Vie (1984)
Black Magic! - Miss Jessie (1970)
Brian Wilson - Just Say No (1986)
C.W. McCall - Kidnap America (1980)
The Soul Searchers - We The People (1972)
Roogalator - Cincinnatti Fatback (1976) Note the Stiff Records logo on the upper left corner. This was one of the first Stiff releases. Danny Adler was an American ex-pat living in England. This was the second version of Roogalator (formed in 1972), and as much as this track smokes, the band got virtually no support from the label, and constant personnel changes killed the group. Could you have hung on that long with an entire movement (that you helped start) bubbling under your feet, only to be ignored and ultimately ripped off?
Cliff Bennett and his Band - Back In The U.S.S.R. (1968)
Con-Funk-Shun - Clique (1974)
Sesame Street - Cracks (1976) "Cracks" is an animated musical insert produced for Sesame Street in the 1970s. A young girl is unable to go outside to play because of the rain, and so she imagines the cracks in her wall form a camel. The camel takes her on an adventure through the wall where she meets a hen and a monkey, also made out of cracks.
The voice is the one and only Dorothy Moskowitz, who I featured on a recent show. She is mostly known as the female voice of The United States of America.
Debby Dobbins - How You Gonna Feel (1979)
A selection from the one and only album by Don Thompson - Fanny Brown/Just Plain Funk/Night Ladies/Hang Loose (1977)
God, I love this funk.
From Dusty Groove: The one and only album from drummer Don Thompson â a funky Brunswick classic from the 70s, and one of the most unique records we've ever heard from the label at the time! Don's got this style of singing that has a bit of a southern twang at times, but he works with grooves that are definitely northern in their orientation â served up in a range of styles that includes the funky drum break of the title cut, some mellow-stepping moments on a few other tunes, and the bouncing boogie that's really become the album's calling card over the years! There's loads of great bass work on most cuts, which really grounds that album alongside Don's drums â and titles include "Just Plain Funk", "Fanny Brown", "Lovin To The Bone", "Night Ladies (part 1 & 2)", and "Hang Loose".
Donny Hathaway - The Ghetto (1970) His early records were expansive and unique, and his voice was second to none. He was every bit the equal of Stevie and Marvin, but you know him from his duets with Roberta Flack.
Wikipedia: During the peak of his career, Hathaway began suffering from severe bouts of depression and exhibiting unusual behavior. In 1971, he was diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia for which he was prescribed various medications. At one point, Hathaway was prescribed fourteen different medications that he was to take twice a day. After Hathaway was diagnosed and began taking medication, his mental state improved. However, Eulaulah Hathaway has said that her husband became less than diligent about following his prescription regimen when he began feeling better and often stopped taking his medications altogether. From 1973 to 1977, Hathaway's mental instability wreaked havoc on his life and career and required several hospitalizations. The effects of his depression and severe mood swings also drove a wedge in his and Flack's friendship; they did not reconcile for several years, and did not release additional music until the successful release of "The Closer I Get To You" in 1978. Flack and Hathaway then resumed studio recording to compose a second album of duets.
You should investigate his discography, especially this stunning debut album, Everything Is Everything. He was brilliant.
Donny Hathaway - To Be Young, Gifted, and Black (1970)
Donnie Most - Rock Is Dead (1976)
Enoch Light and the Light Brigade - Pick Up The Pieces (1975) John Miller on bass.
Enoch Light and the Light Brigade - Puppet Man (1970)
Fleetwood Mac - Sentimental Lady (1972) POACA will remember that Bob Welch rerecorded this with a more prominent Christine McVie backing vocal part. The singing members of Fleetwood Mac circa 1977-1980 could have crapped on a cracker and it would have gone gold.
The Mothers of Invention - Help, I'm a Rock (Suite In Three Movements)
I. Okay To Tap Dance
II. In Memoriam, Edgard VarĂšse
lll. It Can't Happen Here (1966)
Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons To Be Cheerful (Pt. 3) (1980)
Kelly Gordon - He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother (1969) First version. Beautiful.
Kid Creole and the Coconuts - Indiscreet (1983) Live. Goddammit, Carol Colman on bass.
The Residents - Die In Terror (1980)
Hoover Commercial with Brian Johnson of AC/DC on vocals. (1979)
Carpenters - Suntory Pop Jingle (1977)
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There are enough people out there who yearn for the arcane, the odd, the unsuccessful, the strange, and the historically overlooked to justify 200 podcast episodes of D-Sides, Orphans, and Oddities.
This makes me happy, and the topics are inexhaustible. From the strange singles of Freddie Cannon and Lou Christie to the occasionally wonderful singles of Les Humphries Singers, Doris, Os Mutantes, to the strange paths to fame like The American Breed ("Bend Me Shape Me") evolving into Rufus, and then Chaka Kahn, and then "I Feel For You", her biggest hit, written by Prince, but the Kahn version was actually the 4th release and, had Patrice Rushen opted to try it (she turned it down), the 5th. A Prince song with Stevie Wonder playing harmonica over his own voice being sampled.
To me, pop music is styles and the biggest records tend to be styles smooshed together. People like dangerous white music and safe black music. People like rap, but with a melodic vocal hook. While the Bee Gees were not a disco group, the Saturday Night Fever movie was a perfect petri dish. Combine Travolta's white-hot star power with the zeitgeist of Disco and the very odd recordings the Bee Gees were doing at that time. It was the success and the playing it safe in the movie's wake that doomed them.
The Beatles were preternaturally gifted with a work ethic that would kill the musicians of today. But their fame was also born of withering luck. A producer and a manager (and record company) that didn't really know what they were supposed to do with these four tough guys. None of them tried to make The Beatles pick a lead singer, so, like their live act, all four would do it. Because they had the shocking temerity to say "Nope, we're not doing that song...", it was like saying to someone with a gun In your face, "Go ahead. We've come this far. You don't know WHAT we've seen. We see through you, over and over. In Germany. In Sweden. In Wales. We never said 'no' to a gig, no matter how much driving or begging or lack of sleep, and if the Reeperbahn couldn't stop us, what makes you think YOU will?" And their genuine love of Black music somehow broke the barriers for generations of singers, players, etc.
Imagine that moment. You're in The Beatles, you've struggled and burned the roads up and played innumerable gigs, and sat, nose to nose, creating songs in your room that people would be singing and playing for 60 years hence. But now, the sessions begin, and the man in the tie wants you to record a "ringer". And you try it, but it doesn't really do anything. It's ok. But you have to decide. Play the game? Or risk this dude's red pen.
Or show up with something better.
And the guy with the tie has been through some shit as well. And he's tired of being relegated to 2nd string and he resents being put in a place where these four punks dare question his choice. Do better. I'm tired of this shit.
And "Please Please Me" is as black a record as anything any band from England before them had tried. And that little phrase can be attributed to everything they tried after that. Because they proved it, in that ONE shot across the bow that would resonate for what will be eons, that your old choices for ringers, publishing company favors, Brill building production lines, plug-and-play Motown stuff, etc., were going to either fade or have to adapt.
I stop my show pretty much at 1980 because that's when drum machines and synths became songwriting devices. I never liked Joy Division. I just don't get it. At that point, and with exceptions, sure, drum programming and synth programming made songwriting easy. That didn't make the songs any better. Just easier to make. Someone else can do that show.
Anyhow, this is to say thank you to all the folks that have listened and downloaded.
THIS show is me delivering a preamble and then playing 4 hours of music from past shows that I really like. Let's call this "Part 1" because the show, as I originally tried to put it together, lasted 10+ hours. So consider this show when you're on a long drive, doing work, making love to your woman, or man, or both, or none.
So......
This is the setlist, but theyâre not all âgood songsâ. Some are meant to show you the arcane nature of what I find most enjoyable. Song-poems (âThe Beatle Boysâ), artists coping with the end of their heyday (Gary Glitter) and ill-prepared for life after that, or artists way before they found their niche (The Gap Band). And, of course, groups I love like Rose Tattoo, The Free Design, and SAHB.
Leoâs Sunshipp - Give Me The Sunshine (1978)
The Free Design - My Very Own Angel (1969)
GLS United - Rapperâs Deutsch (1980) Samples âRapperâs Delightâ, which samples âGood Timesâ by Chic, âHere Comes That Sound Againâ by Love De-Luxe with Hawkinâs Discophonia (which i played on one of my previous shows), and a quote from the movie Five on the Black Hand Side, specifically, a scene in the barbershop that predated the advent of Rudy Ray Mooreâ Dolemite character by 2 years.
Louis Armstrong - The Creator Has a Master Plan (1970) w/ Leon Thomas
Rick Wakeman - Iâm So Straight, Iâm a Weirdo (1980) I just like playing this awful oddity from the keyboard player from Yes. This record defies description. But if you see the video on Youtube, look for a young Boy George.
James Last - Inner City Blues (Make Me Wanna Holler) (1971) From the album Voodoo-Party.
Billy Preston - My Sweet Lord (1970) One of two albums he released on Apple Records.
Rod Rogers (really, Rod Keith) and the Swinging Strings - The Beatle Boys (196?)
The Gap Band - Magicianâs Holiday (1974)
Gary Glitter - A Little Boogie Woogie in the Back of My Mind (1977)
The Free Design - There Is A Song (1972) I will never stop praising this wonderful group.
Stuart Damon - Eros (1970) Dr. Alan Quartermaine from General Hospital had a brief singing career.
The Millennium - There Is Nothing More To Say (1968) Lou Christie lifted this wonderful melody for his own âCanterbury Road" later that year. From the film âTill [sic] Kingtom Comesâ.
XTC- Across This Antheap (1987) I never tire of this amazing track. Itâs my show.
Aerosmith -Nobodyâs Fault (1976) I like Aerosmithâs â70s albums very much. They were all loaded with hidden gems, and to me, âNobodyâs Faultâ was just the most succinct example of a band that made consistently good/great albums.
Frank Zappa - Andy (1980) A great, difficult tune (you try it with your band.) Recorded live in Buffalo.
Annette Peacock - The Succubus (1979)
The Red Shadow - Anything Good (1975)
Carpenters - Bâwana She No Home (1977)
Bruford - Back To The Beginning (1978)
Frank Sinatra - Bad, Bad, Leroy Brown (1974)
Barry McGuire & The Doctor - South Of The Border (1970) I love this song. We are on the eve of destruction indeed. Might as wellâŠ
Beach Boys - Rollinâ Up To Heaven (1972?) This is so insane, and especially from a major artist, that it defies categorization.
Rose Tattoo - We Canât Be Beaten (1982) Ferocious.
Billy (Crash) Craddock - Knock Three Times (1971)
Led Zeppelin - Black Dog (1972) Unbelievable live version from âHow The West Was Wonâ. Listen to those bass drum tricks. Especially during the coda. I wish Robert Plant never smoked. A normal drummer would go crazy with fills. Bonham put them where they belonged, no more. He showed amazing restraint at times. You wouldnât think so, but he was a grooving monster above all else.
Black Oak Arkansas - Hot And Nasty (1971)
Michael (Mick) Jackson - Blame It On The Boogie (1978)
Bob & Earl - Harlem Shuffle (1969)
The Kids From The Brady Bunch - Candy (Sugar Shoppe) (1972) So inappropriate that I wonder what the record company/TV show producers were thinking. Good song and a nice performance by the studio band.
Bread - Everything I Own (1972)
Carla Bley - Rawalpindi Blues (1972)
Nick Mason - Do Ya? (1980)
Liberace - Say Ciao (1970) Liberace puts it into words and music..."Never Say Goodbye, Say Ciao"...capturing the mood of Ciao Liqueur...the imported new liqueur with the elusive new taste. I canât find another song that Liberace wrote himself.
Crack The Sky - Surf City (Here Come The Sharks) (1975)
Les Humphries Singers - Dancing Queen (1976) You can still hear Jimmy Bilsburyâs straining, smoky tenor in the choruses. âHaving the time of your lifeâŠâ Poor guy.
Eddie Kendricks - Me 'N Rock 'N Roll Are Here To Stay (1974)
Denny Greene - The Great Escape (1981) Ex-Sha Na Na member trying to break type like J Jocko tried a few years before. I love this. This is a dance mix of the original he did in 1977.
Dennis Wilson - River Song (1977)
Doris - Did You Give The World Some Love Today, Baby? (1970) No one knows who Doris is. Iâd rather listen to her and this crazy Swedish band for a year before I ever give any time to Janis Joplin.
Rotary Connection - Didnât Want To Have To Do It (1967)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This is a wonderful remix of the original fluke hit.
The Move - Do Ya (different version) (1971)
Jeff Lynne - Doinâ That Crazy Thing (1977)
Rick Nelson - Donât Blame It On Your Wife (1968)
Sha Na Na Anti-Drug PSA (197?)
Doris - Beatmaker (1970)
Dschinghis Khan - Rocking Son Of Dschinghis Khan (1979)
Edith Head Fashion Prescription
Emerson, Lake, and Palmer - Trilogy (1973)
Utopia - Eternal Love (1976)
Alix Dobkin - View Form Gay Head (1973)
Fats Domino - Everybodyâs Got Something To Hide Except For Me and My Monkey (1968)
John Farrar - Falling (1980)
Creedence Clearwater Revival - Feelinâ Blue (1969)
Laverne and Shirley - Five Years On (1976) Written by Michael McKean. His story is too long for me to get into. For POACA he was "Lenny" of Lenny and Squiggy. Or he was David St. Hubbins in Spinal Tap. Or he was Saul Goodman's brother in Better Call Saul.
Genesis - Fly On A Windshield/Broadway Melody of 1974 (1974)
Fonzie Impressionist Track (Aaaaay, Cool, Nerd, Sit On It) (1976) One of the weirdest things in my collection. Why does it exist? And then it repeats in reverse!!
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A Flock of Seagulls - Telecommunication (1981) EP Released before their debut album. Produced by Bill Nelson.
A Flock of Seagulls - It's Not Me Talking (1981)
Bill Nelson - Love Without Fears (1982)
Be Bop Deluxe - New Precision (1978) Be Bop Deluxe was like The Stranglers in a way. They rarely settled on one style. They started in a kind of glam/new wave hybrid aesthetic and moved to prog and the like. The difference was that Bill Nelson was an amazing guitarist, which (thankfully) distinguished them from the punk zeitgeist that was to soon dominate the UK charts. So they rarely made fools of themselves and stopped when their bass player's visa expired instead of trudging on and on. Always interesting, good lyrics, and overall horribly underrated. I hope you like my little sampling of their overlooked discography.
Be Bop Deluxe - Ships In The Night (1976)
Be Bop Deluxe - Jet Silver And The Dolls Of Venus (1974)
Strontium 90 - Electron Romance (1977)
Wikipedia:
Strontium 90 was the name of a short-lived 1977 British band with members Mike Howlett (lead bass, vocals), Sting (bass, vocals), Stewart Copeland (drums), and Andy Summers (guitar). The band is most notable for introducing Summers to Sting and Copeland, as this trio would go on to massive success as The Police.
The band was formed in mid-1977 by Howlett after he quit Gong and recruited Sting and Summers to participate in a new project. Chris Cutler was unavailable to play drums, so Sting brought along Copeland, with whom he had been playing in an early lineup of The Police.
I've played Gong on this show a few times. Gong was the band that briefly featured Bill Bruford (after Yes and King Crimson)and Dave Stewart who went on to form Bruford with Alan Holdsworth and Jeff Berlin. One of the finest prog ensembles ever. If you like quirky, other-worldly prog, don't find Can funny and wish Incredible String Band had a better line-up, go listen to Gong. Mike Howlett was a fine bassist but wasn't integral to Gong's original sound.
Strontium 90 - New World Blues (1977)
Strontium 90 - Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (1977)
Public Zone - Naive (1977) Peter Godwin, Duncan Brown, and Sean Lyons were members of Metro. The band briefly changed their name to Public Zone and released this single with Stewart Copeland who played drums on both tracks
Curved Air - Desiree (1976) Stuart Copeland on drums. Copeland was romantically involved with Curved Air vocalist Sonja Kristina beginning in 1974, and they were married from 1982 to 1991. Copeland adopted Kristina's son Sven from a prior relationship, and they had two more sons together, Jordan and Scott. I came THIS close to interviewing Stuart Copeland when he was in town last time. I would have asked him about Sonja, Klark Kent, and not much more.
Curved Air - Juno (1976)
Last Exit - Savage Beast (1975) Sting on vocals.
Last Exit - Fool In Love (1975)
Last Exit - Carrion Prince (1975)
Tim Rose - Second Avenue (1975) What a nice song. Andy Summers plays guitar. I played this over and over when I found it.
Kevin Lamb - Last Farewell (1973) Andy Summers on guitar.
Joan Armatrading - Stepping Out (1975) Andy Summers on guitar.
Eric Burdon and the Animals - Colored Rain (1968) Andy Summers on guitar.
Dantalian's Chariot - Soma (Parts 1 & 2) (1967) Andy Summers on guitar.
Dantalian's Chariot - World War Three (1967)
Dantalian's Chariot - Madman Running Through The Fields (1967)
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The Beach Bums - The Yellow Beret (1966) Did you know Bob Seger was such a right-wing nut job?
The song is a parody of The Ballad Of The Green Berets by Barry Sadler, a huge hit in February 1966, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, Cashbox, and Billboard Adult Contemporary charts, as well as #2 on the Country charts. It sold over two million copies in just the first two weeks. This song is a stark contrast to Seger's better-known ANTI-Viet Nam song, "2 + 2 + ? " released just 2 years later.
As you know, Seger finally hit the big time with Ramblinâ Gamblinâ Man in 1969, but what you might NOT know is that future Eagle Glenn Frey played acoustic guitar and sang backing vocals on Ramblinâ Gamblinâ Man.
Bob Seger - The Famous Final Scene (1977) My favorite song of his.
Wings - Give Ireland Back To The Irish (1972)
John Lennon - The Luck Of The Irish (1972)
Gilbert Neal and Ken Ray Wilemon - Photograph (2017)
Gilbert Neal and Ken Ray Wilemon - Give Me Love (2017)
Johnny "Guitar" Watson - I Wanna Ta Ta You, Baby (1976)
Johnny "Guitar" Watson - Superman Lover (1976)
Zappa on Watson:
"Watson, he's the original minimalist guitar player. The solo on "Lonely Nights," the one-note guitar solo? Says it all! Gets the point across. I can remember guitar players in high school learning that solo and just going, "But how does he get it to sound that way?" It really was one note. If you can play that note against those chord changes and derive the same emotional impact that he got from playing that note, then you're onto something. He can make that one be so nasty. You know, like, "What's behind that note? What is the mode? Why are you continuing to play the tonic when the dominant chord comes around? Are you goin' like this [gestures with his middle finger in the F-you" position] with your playing or what?" You have to learn how to do that. (...)generally the people who write about music don't know music. Anybody can tell whether these four notes are faster than these four notes. But what does it take to listen to Johnny Guitar Watson's one note, and know that he's doin' that? Did you ever point that out to a reader? Did you ever get across that there's something more to it than rilly-rilly-ree?"
Johnny "Guitar" Watson - It's All About the Dollar Bill (1977) "Distributed by Amherst Records, 355 Harlem Road, Buffalo (West Seneca, really), NY, 14224" which was about .25 miles from where I grew up. They would occasionally have cut-out sales in that warehouse. I bought an American "Greatest Hits" album by The Move, but it was so cheaply packaged and sounded terrible.
Gilbert Neal and Ken Ray Wilemon - This Guy's In Love In With Guy (2017)
Gilbert Neal and Ken Ray Wilemon - Come Sail Away (2017)
O C Smith - La La Peace Song (1974)
The Equals - Black Skinned, Blue-Eyed Boys (1970) Written by Eddie Grant of "Electric Avenue" fame.
The Revox Singers - The Woodstock Message (1969?) An anti-war single from around that time. I think it was a song-poem. In other words, someone sent a poem to a "boutique" record company (in this case, Aladdin Records out of Chicago) and they wrote accompaniment.
Percy Mayfield - Walking On A Tightrope (1969)
Percy Mayfield - I Don't Want To Be President (1974)
Discogs:
US R&B vocalist and composer (b. August 12, 1920, Minden, Louisiana, d. August 11, 1984, Los Angeles, CA)Though maybe mostly known for penning the classic "Hit the Road, Jack", Mayfield himself was a major performer for the Specialty label in the first half of the 50s delivering slow blues ballads with his smoky voice reminiscent of Charles Brown. His biggest hit was the 1950 "Please Send Me Someone to Love", an R&B standard covered by many singers since then.The good-looking Mayfield was nearly killed in a 1952 car accident that left his face severely scarred and may have had a limiting effect on his career as a performer. In 1961 Ray Charles made his "Hit The Road, Jack" a major hit, and Mayfield was subsequently hired by Charles's Tangerine Records as a songwriter.After a decade in the background, Mayfield had a comeback and released several albums late 60s to early 70s on Tangerine and RCA. On these albums, Mayfield's smoky baritone voice is often heard accompained by top jazz session-players of the era.
Percy Mayfield - Right On, Young Americans (1972)
Gilbert Neal and Ken Ray Wilemon - Show Me The Way (2017)
Gilbert Neal and Ken Ray Wilemon - Miracles (2017)
Gilbert Neal and Ken Ray Wilemon - Fooled Around In Love (2017)
I chose some lesser-known songs from Chuck Berry's post-heyday. Some of the songs on these records are great stories like the great man could do effortlessly.
Chuck Berry - Ma Dear (1965)
Chuck Berry - Bio (1973)
Chuck Berry - My Dream (1971)
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a-ha - Lesson One (Take On Me first demo) (1982) Before their one. big, groundbreaking mega-hit (mostly for the video) this song underwent a couple revisions. They knew somehow that they had gold, but they struggled to find a winning chorus. They would.
Anna Frid Lyngstad - Guld Och Gröna Ăngar (10CC's "The Wall Street Shuffle" in Swedish) (1975) The red-headed female in Abba released solo stuff with some success in her homeland throughout their heyday. But she didn't hit in the USA solo until teaming with Phil Collins for "I Know There's Something Going On" in 1982.
Anna Frid Lyngstad - Liv PĂ„ Mars? (David Bowie's "Life On Mars?" in Swedish) (1975)
Anna Frid Lyngstad - Skulle De' Va' Skönt (The Beach Boys' "Wouldn't It Be Nice" in Swedish) (1975)
Baker Gurvitz Army - Hearts On Fire (1976) A pretty stupid song written by Ginger Baker. I never really liked him. I never liked Cream, to be honest. I like Jack Bruce singing with Carla Bley on "Escalator Over The Hill".
Bridges - Miss Eerie ("The Juicyfruit Song", the earliest recording of "Take On Me") (1981) In 1981, a-haâs Paul Waaktaar-Savoy and Magne Furuholmen recorded this song for their band Bridges. In 1984, having formed a-ha with vocalist Morten Harket, theyâd take yet another stab at the track.
Jack Bruce - I'm Gettin' Tired (Of Drinkin' and Gamblin') (1965)
Ginger Baker's Air Force - Sweet Wine (1970) Same musical structure, in a way, as Mothers of Invention, without the scatology.
Ginger Baker - Ariwo (1972)
Hawkwind - Levitation (1980) With Ginger Baker on drums. Another band that never really pinged my interest. Throw them on the pile!
Michael Lloyd and Mike Curb - It's Magic (1969) From...Hot Wheels Cartoon Soundtrack.
Liner notes: This exciting album contains all of the original sound track music from HOT WHEELS- the high adventure show on ABC-TV's Super Saturday Club. This thrilling weekly cartoon series features a group of young drivers who have formed a "hot wheels" auto club. Their activities cover all aspects of this fast road sport...cross country, track and dunes, and the music reflects their love of high speed action. HOT WHEELS is an up-to-the minute show and the music from the sound track is as turned on and tuned-in as today's high performance cars. Mike Curb. who wrote the music for the show, puts it all into high gear on this fast moving album!
Ian Dury and the Blockheads - Reasons To Be Cheerful, Pt. 3 (1979) These guys could play. I went through their stuff. Very exciting and versatile. The late '70s in UK must have been an exciting time for music fans.
Ian Dury and The Blockheads - Hit Me With Your Rhythm Stick (1978) Listen to that bass guitar. Norman Watt-Roy. What fun it must have been to produce these records. That seems to be when the best records were made. When all concerned were united in making a good sound, but not taking themselves too seriously.
Jack Bruce - Never Tell Your Mother She's Out of Tune (1969)
Jack Bruce - Pieces Of Mind (1974)
Jack Bruce - Victoria Sage (1971) Even though having Ginger Baker in my band would have been a special circle of hell for me, and I think Jack Bruce might have been a tad busy for my taste, I find both of their records invariably more interesting than anything Eric Clapton did. And aside from Jack Bruce's first solo album, Songs For A Tailor, neither artist charted in the US with anything. And I know this might be sacrilege to say, but is Duane Allman's slide solo on "Layla" THAT good? I find it pretty...meandering. Out of tune, even. Go ahead and kill me.
Madness - Blue Skinned Beast (1983) Same album as their US hit "Our House". Dan put this on a mixtape for me once. I never forgot.
Madness - Embarrassment (1980)
Madness is an English ska band from Camden Town, North London, who formed in 1976. One of the most prominent bands of the late 1970s and early 1980s two-tone ska revival, Madness's most successful period was from 1980 to 1986 when the band's songs spent a total of 214 weeks on the UK Singles Chart.
Madness has had 15 singles reach the UK top ten, which include "One Step Beyond", "Baggy Trousers" and "It Must Be Love", one UK number-one single "House of Fun" and two number ones in Ireland, "House of Fun" and "Wings of a Dove". "Our House" was their biggest US hit. In 2000 the band received the Ivor Novello Award from the British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors for Outstanding Song Collection.
Madness - On The Town (Feat. Rhoda Dakar)/Bingo (2009) Read the Wiki about this album. Most artists, after how many years, regress or become a trivia act. Madness reached for the stars. It's a worthy listen for sure.
Marianne Faithfull - I'm a Loser (1965) You had to be there, I guess.
Mike Curb & Lawrence Brown - Bay City Boys (1967) From the original motion picture soundtrack to the film "Mary Jane".
A car driven by a driver intoxicated by marijuana plunges off a cliff, killing the driver and injuring a female passenger. It turns out marijuana use is rife at a small-town high school, led by the clique of Jordan Bates. Art teacher Phil Blake tries to persuade student Jerry Blackburn not to smoke. Jerry borrows Phil's car and Jordan leaves some marijuana in it. Phil gets arrested for possession of marijuana.
This movie starred Fabian, who was a heartthrob in the early '60s. Maybe this was his attempt to be a serious actor.
The movie was co-written by Dick Gautier (POACA will recall his ubiquitous presence on every game show ever done, as "Hymie" the Robot on Get Smart, and in 1973, when Burt Ward and Yvonne Craig reprised their Batman roles (as Robin and Batgirl respectively) for a TV public service announcement about equal pay for women, Adam West, who was trying to distance himself from the Batman role at the time, declined to participate. Gautier filled in for West as Batman. The other co-writer was Peter Marshall, who hosted The Hollywood Squares for 15 years.
For the fetishist, here is that PSA, with Dick Gautier as Batman.
https://youtu.be/3LviAKGZxPs
Mike Curb Congregation - Come Together/Hey Jude (1970)
The Mike Curb Congregation - Burning Bridges (1970) From the movie "Kelly's Heroes".
Hank Williams Jr. & The Mike Curb Congregation - Walkin' To New Orleans (1971)
The New Life - The Sidehackers Soundtrack (1969) Do you remember the MST3K episode? Well, there's a soundtrack that features Mike Curb's involvement. Besides the Sidehackers soundtrack, The New Life also scored songs for a film called Black Water Gold.
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You might like this little slice of relatively well-recorded tomfoolery recorded live at the famous Fillmore East in 1971. What a night it must have been. Anyhow, it really depends on which mix you like better. Lennon and Ono or Frank Zappa. To me, Some Time In New York City sounds pretty muddy. I like this album because it has (to my knowledge) none of Zappa's Xenechrony. It's all raw, but if you really pay attention, these Mothers were pretty tight.
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Well
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Say Please
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Aaawk (I love Yoko's ferocious "aaawk" squeals...like she's repeatedly being shoved underwater.)
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - Scumbag
Frank Zappa & The Mothers of Invention - A Small Eternity With Yoko Ono
Willie Dickson and The Playboys - Licking Stick (1969)
Andrea True Connection - More, More, More (1976) Instrumental version sounds almost like a run-through. Especially that bass. I like it.
Collective Consciousness Society CCS - Whole Lotta Love (1971)
Discogs: CCS (Collective Consciousness Society) was a British group formed by bluesman Alexis Korner and Danish vocalist Peter Thorup. The band itself also consisted of different studio casts who would be around but also included Tony Carr (drums), Herbie Flowers (bass), Harold Beckett (trumpet), Harold McNair (woodwind), and Henry Lowther (trumpet), among others. This wasnât all, as they were going for a unique sound to rival the top Rock acts of the day. So they would grab the creme de la creme of jazz studio musicians of the time. The entire lineup would always be subject to change throughout the bandâs history, depending on personnel availability at recordings.
Desmond Dekker and the Aces - Licking Stick (1971)
David Peel and the Lower East Side - The Ballad of New York City - John Lennon / Yoko Ono (1972)
Elephant's Memory - Local Plastic Ono Band (1972)
George Torrence and the Naturals - (Mama, Come Quick, And Bring Your) Lickin' Stick (1968) Note the composer.
James Brown - Licking Stick, Licking Stick (1968) Now, the same song, re-written by James Brown.
Rusty Garnett - Licking Stick, Licking Stick (196?)
Tenth Hour - Lickin Stick (1975) This beat Shazam! Credited to Charles Manley and George Torrence.
The United States Air Force Band featuring The Free Design â "The Now Sound Of Christmas" (1968) These are all live recordings, and some have never been released on Free Design albums. ESPECIALLY the song "Shepherds and Wisemen" which, to my ears, is very good. A hidden gem.
The Proper Ornaments/Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence/Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer/Close Your Mouth (It's Christmas)/Christmas Is The Day/Winter Wonderland/Shepherds and Wise Men/Reprise-The Now Sound of Christmas. It would be so nice to hear this on a big FM radio console in a living room.
Jimmy Castor Bunch (featuring the Everything Man) - Supersound (1975) I love this.
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John Paul Joans - Got To Get Together Now (1970)
John Davidge was a politically motivated and confrontational stand-up comedian In 1970, he made a record for the UK Christmas market. His manager arranged for Eric Stewart, Lol Creme, and Kevin Godley (later of 10CC) to write the song with him. It was "Man From Nazareth" with the flip side "Got To Get Together Now". Both were recorded at Strawberry Studios and released on Mickie Mostâs RAK label.
The song was tipped as a 1970 Xmas #1 but lost its momentum because the other John Paul Jones objected, necessitating that all the records be recalled, destroyed, and reprinted! The song peaked at No. 25 in January 1971 after a belated post-Xmas Top of The Pops performance.
A selection from Andrea True's Europe-only third album War Machine (1980)
Open Up Baby/Hootchie Kootchie Floozies/War Machine
Babatunde Olatunji - Soul Makossa (1973) Originally recorded by Manu Dibango, and borrowed for Michael Jackson's "Don't Stop 'Til You Get Enough."
Earth and Fire - Memories (1972)
Earth and Fire - 21st Century Show (1970)
Earth and Fire - Circus (1975)
Serge Gainsbourg - Joanna (1965)
OST from the film "ComeTogether" - ComeTogether/Get Together (1971)
Something Weird: Come Together is one of those great, unique, hard-to-categorize European films that would best be described as a slice of life from the "free love" hippie generation.
TONY ANTHONY plays Tony, a free-wheeling American stuntman working in Italian films, who tries to pick up two swinging American tourists, Lisa (LUCIANA PALUZZI) and Ann (ROSEMARY DEXTER). His persistence pays off and he gives them a tour of Rome in his new sports car. As the trio develop a friendship, we find that Ann is still suffering stress from an abortion, and Lisa was recently involved in a messy affair with an older married man. Tony has his own mental baggage: he was the only survivor when his unit was massacred in Vietnam. All three are searching for an intimate relationship.
Tony is hired to play a Mexican bandit in a spaghetti western in Spain -- fans of the genre wonât want to miss these scenes -- and finds himself missing the two girls. When he returns, the three take a trip to Pompeii, get turned on by the ancient erotic paintings (not an easy thing to do) and plunge into a mĂ©nage Ă trois. However, Tony is pretty freaked out by this and drives off to sort things out. It doesnât take him long to return and accept the relationship for what it is. It all comes to a head with a jaw-dropping out-of-left-field ending that would never fly with todayâs test audiences...
Mr. Anthony, "best known" [quotes mine] for his spaghetti western Stranger character (Stranger in Town), is hilarious (sometimes unintentionally) and his â60s voice-over philosophy is a hoot. Heâs also a real fashion casualty of the times in his floppy hippie hat and Mickey Mouse denim jacket. A standout scene shows him as a gigolo in bed with a whacked-out client, lots of poodles, and a vibrator. Gorgeous Luciana Paluzzi is best known as James Bondâs love interest in Thunderball.
Hardcore Beatles fanatics should be alerted that the soundtrack for Come Together was released on Apple Records. Co-director SAUL SWIMMER was also involved with Let It Be, and Ringo Starr and Tony Anthony starred together in Blindman.
Justin Hayward and John Lodge - Blue Guitar (1975) With 10CC.
John Lodge - Street Cafe (1980)
Robert Lamm - Song for Richard and His Friends (2006?)
Robert Lamm - Temporary Jones (1974)
The Four Seasons - Silver Star (live) (1980)
Laura Brannigan - Deep In The Dark (1983)
Dave Clark 5 - Children (197?)
The Osmond Brothers - Flower Music (1967)
Firyuza - Native land (1979)
The Searchers - Love Potion #9 (1975) A pointless reinvention.
The Residents - Bach Is Dead (first version) (197?)
Robert Lamm - A Lifetime We (1974)
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The Knack - Africa (1981) From their 3rd album, Round Trip.
Peter Cetera - Holy Moly (1981)
Gerard McMahon - Hello Operator (1976)
Robert Lamm - Crazy Way to Spend a Year (1974)
Angelo - It Don't Matter (1976) With the Chicago horns, as well as Danny Seraphine on drums, Laudir de Oliveira on percussion, and the ubiquitous Peter Cetera.
Odyssey - Home Of The Brave (1972) With Donnie "Hot Licks" Dacus.
Robert Lamm - Where You Think You're Goin? (1972)
Don Felder - Never Surrender (1983) Written with Kenny Loggins ("Footloose", "Danny's Song") and featuring Pankow and Loughnane.
Gene McDaniels - Feel Like Makin' Love (1975)
Joe Vitale - Sailor Man (1981)
Leon Russell - Let's Get Started (1978)
The Knack - Lil' Cals Big Mistake (1981)
Maynard Ferguson - Rocky II Disco (1979) Featuring the real Sylvester Stallone on grunting, and Danny Seraphine on drums.
Flo & Eddie - Hot (1975) Featuring D. H.L. Dacus on slide guitar.
Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman signed with Columbia [Records] as Flo & Eddie. In his autobiography Shell Shocked, Kaylan revealed that upon receiving the cover art for their first album, they were appalled to learn that the printer had mistakenly printed the duo's stage names in the wrong order above their photograph. Volman was identified as Flo, which had been Kaylan's stage name in [Frank] Zappa's band, and Kaylan was identified as Eddie, Volman's stage name. The label refused to reprint the cover, saying that it would cost too much money. Thus, Kaylan and Volman decided to professionally swap stage names.
They sang backing vocals on so many famous songs and albums that you've likely heard them today. Among them:
"Bang a Gong" by T Rex.
Illegal Stills - Stephen Stills
From The Inside - Alice Cooper
"Hungry Heart" by Bruce Springsteen
Blondie, Psychedelic Furs, Todd Rundgren (when you hear "Bang on the Drum All Day" at a sporting event, that's them singing,) Duran Duran, etc. Volman and Kaylan also sang on the first recording by Steely Dan, a demo of "Everyone's Gone To The Movies." I read an article where Kaylan says he was asked to be their lead singer, but he nixed the idea of singing without his partner.
James William Guercio - Tell Me (1973)
Peter Cetera - Livin' in the Limelight (1980)
Wikipedia: When Columbia Records dropped Chicago in 1981, Cetera was in the middle of recording his first solo album for the same label. He had to personally buy the rights to the album before it could be released. According to Cetera, Chicago's new record company, Warner Bros., released the Peter Cetera album while it was waiting for Chicago 16 to be released. Cetera has asserted that one reason for the album's poor commercial success, however, was lack of support from the record company: the record company didn't want it to be successful and didn't promote it for fear that he would leave the group. In his 2011 autobiography, former Chicago bandmate, Danny Seraphine, backs up Cetera on this point, writing, "... [the album] sank like a stone due to lack of record company support. Warner Brothers didn't want it to interfere with their plans for Chicago." A full-page advertisement announcing the album appeared on page 100 of the November 21, 1981 issue of Billboard magazine.
Marcos Valle - A ParaĂba NĂŁo Ă© Chicago (1981)
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My last Carpenters show got wiped for some reason. Maybe the ghost of Karen?
A sound that no one will forget once they hear it. I am talking about those tight harmonies. Richard's scholarly, clever approach to harmonies often goes unnoticed, but he was quite the craftsman. What can you say about Karen? She wasn't meant to be the star. She was a black sheep. Not meant to shine. Meant to be grounded into fine dust like the Carpenter women before her.
Wikipedia: In early 1966, Karen tagged along at a late-night session in the garage studio of Los Angeles bassist Joe Osborn, and joined future Carpenters collaborator and lyricist John Bettis at a demo session where Richard was to accompany (Dan) Friberg (trumpet player and friend of Richard). Asked to sing, she performed for Osborn, who was immediately impressed with her vocal abilities. He signed Karen to his label, Magic Lamp Records, and Richard to his publishing arm, Lightup Music. The label put out a single featuring two of Richard's compositions, "Looking for Love" and "I'll Be Yours". As well as Karen's vocals, the track was backed by the Richard Carpenter Trio. The single was not a commercial success due to a lack of promotion, and the label folded the next year.
Carpenters - Get Together (1969) Richard on vocals. You can sort of divine, even at this nascent stage, why Richard was not going to do many vocals from here on in.
Karen Carpenter - Jimmy Mack (1980) From the aborted solo album. Backed by Billy Joel's versatile group, these sessions were replete with fawners (of the good kind) like Joel, Paul Simon (who offered up his own "Still Crazy After All These Years"), and Peter Cetera of Chicago. One gets the feeling there was so much respect, almost a quiet but unmistakable hopefulness that she could get well, be free.
Carpenters - Crescent Noon (1970)
Carpenters - Get Together (1970) From a "Your Navy Presents" radio program.
Spectrum - Crescent Noon (1966)
Karen Carpenter - Midnight (1980)
Carpenters - Mr. Guder (1970)
Wikipedia: Richard and Bettis then were hired as musicians at a refreshment shop at Disneyland's Main Street, U.S.A. They were expected to play turn of the 20th century songs in keeping with the shop's theme. The shop's patrons had other ideas; many requested the musicians to play current popular music. When the pair tried pleasing their customers and honoring the requests, they were fired by a Disneyland supervisor, Victor Guder, for being "too radical". Bettis and Richard were unhappy about their dismissal and wrote the song "Mr. Guder" about their former superior.
Karen Carpenter - My Body Keeps Changing My Mind (1980)
Carpenters - Road Ode (1972)
Carpenters - B'wana She No Home (1977) I like their daring choice and also this version of the Michael Franks tune.
Karen Carpenter - Looking For Love (1966)
Carpenters - You'll Love Me (1967)
Carpenters - The Rainbow Connection (Recorded in 1980, released in 1999) Richard objected to the "syllabification", notably the first verse that Kermit the Frog sings in The Muppet Movie, for whom the song was written. That original was nominated for an Academy Award. So while they dutifully trudged on, Karen wasn't pleased with the outcome and the recording was not released in her lifetime.
Carpenters - One Fine Day (1973)
Carpenters - Piano Picker (1972)
Your Wonderful Parade (1969)
Carpenters - California Dreamin' (1967/1999)
Richard Carpenter via Obscure Media: From Joe's Studio, circa 1967. This is the one tape, 4-track or otherwise, that survives, as, for some reason, Joe gave it to me. Even though the most important ingredient on tape, the lead, is on its own track, the bass, piano, drums and string machine were all bounced to another track, leaving two openâŠfor what, I can't remember.
As a result, in 1999, we transferred the 4-track to 48-track and re-did everything, including a reproduction of my original electric piano solo. I finally got around to putting real strings on the track instead of those on the Chamberlain Music Master that was on the demo. This is one of my favorite tracks on this collection. Karen, at 17, is a marvel. I especially like the way she jumps an octave, from chest voice, to head voice on the letter (and note) "A" in the opening and then seamlessly back to chest on "Dreamin'". There is some electronic noise on the lead track, we don't know why. And I realize now and I should have then, that we have an incorrect word in the second verse: "began to pray" should be "pretend to pray".
Karen Carpenter - I'll Be Yours (1966)
Carpenters - Morinaga Hi-Crown Chocolate Commercial (1975?) Morinaga was/is a Japanese candy company. Hi-Crown Chocolate was, as far as I can tell, a way to market sweet, sweet nicotine to kids:
From the Morinaga website:
CANDY FIT FOR AN EMPEROR
1964 - HiâCrown chocolate debuts, and becomes a major hit from one end of Japan to the other. This was the start of a long string of hit Morinaga candies -- including you-know-what. [ed: I don't.]
The Morinaga Groupâs Corporate Philosophy
The Morinaga Groupâs Corporate Philosophy is composed of Our Mission, Our Visions, and Our Commitments. Our Mission states how the Group will contribute to society, and Our Visions comprise the five visions that we will pursue toward the future.Our Commitments represent the values that we have developed during more than 100-year history since the founding of the Group and will continue to uphold as our firm belief for many more years to come. To describe the essence of our Corporate Philosophy in one word, it is âDelicious, Fun, and Healthy.â
Carpenters - Tryin' To Get The Feeling Again (1975/1994) It would have appeared on the Horizon album but Richard decreed that the album already had too many ballads. This was recorded before the version we all know by Barry Manilow. I love her version. So weary. So deep and sad. This should have been released.
The Richard Carpenter Trio - Every Little Thing (1966)
Carpenters - Suntory Pop Jingle #1 (1977)
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Carla Bley - Enormous Tots (1974) The vocalist is Julie Tippetts, formerly Julie Driscoll, who sang on releases by Bob Dylan and Donovan. You've heard her before on this show, singing on the Centipede album. Her band of note in the late '60s, Brian Auger and The Trinity, starred in the rarely-seem 33â Revolutions Per Monkee, a post-Head TV special, more psychedelic than the movie if you can believe that. As you know, I love Carla Bley. Her early '70s stuff is amazing. Like Zappa. More abstract.
The Move - Feel Too Good (1970)
The Carla Bley Band - Musique Mecanique I (1979) This suite is meant (I think) to sound like a mechanical device brought to sentience. I could and probably am very wrong. I love it.
The Carla Bley Band - Musique Mecanique II (At Midnight) (1979)
The Carla Bley Band - Musique Mecanique III (1979)
Electric Light Orchestra - Boy Blue (1974)
Electric Light Orchestra - Laredo Tornado (1974)
Electric Light Orchestra - Poor Boy (1974) I don't know if it was this album's legend or the fact that there's mostly a real orchestra/chorus, or the wonderful cover, but when I bought this I felt like I was holding something special. It really is a wonderful pop album. Their second-best.
Pink Floyd - Dogs (1977)
A filmstrip record from American Motors used to train salesmen how to sell the Rebel Machine. (1970) I know nothing about cars. But I did find this record and wanted to play it for you.
Nick Mason's Fictitious Sports - Can't Get My Motor To Start (1981) This is a Carla Bley vanity project that was released under Nick Mason's name. He has said he liked the record he did with Rick Fenn (who was in 10CC after Godley and Creme left to develop the Gizmo) better, but it's not nearly as interesting as this. No one knew what to do with this, and people expecting The Wall were probably amused or stunned or both.
Louie and the Rockets - Stay Away From Karen (Unholy Rollers) (1972) "Behind-the-scenes life of the Roller Derby circuit... A beautiful young woman joins a Roller Derby team, but her fierce independence and competitive spirit get her into trouble."
This song was written by Bobby Hart, one half of the Boyce-Hart team that wrote "Come A Little Bit Closer" as well as a bunch of hits for The Monkees' first couple albums. And the theme. And they toured with Dolenz and Jones in 1975. Louie and the Rockets have a website.
Marvin Gaye - "T" Stands For Trouble (1972) From the film "Trouble Man", Marvin Gaye's one and only soundtrack album.
Yes - Going For The One (1976)
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The Killjoys - NaĂŻve (1977) Featuring Kevin Rowland, later to be the lead singer of Dexys Midnight Runners who had a huge worldwide hit with "Come On Eileen". Normally I'd frown on such trend-hopping (this was just the first of many image reinventions to come) but when lightning strikes, it strikes. But it almost never strikes twice in pop music. And it didn't for him.
The Monkees - Head Radio Promo (1968) This is hilarious! Hearing Annette Funicello and a few members of the cast waxing about these "crazy" Monkees. Not The Monkees themselves, mind you. By the way, one of the shortest soundtrack albums I've ever seen. Each side clocks in at about 14 minutes with some incidental dialog.
The Dave Clark Five - Last Train To Clarksville (1971?) Dave Clark had been approached (according to an interview I read from 1967) for the group to do the TV show which became The Monkees. But he turned it down because he did not see his band acting on screen the way the four actors who formed the 'made for TV band' called The Monkees would be asked to do. This particular recording appears on an out-of-print collection called "Unreleased Tracks", as were the other DC5 tracks on this show.
àžàžžàž àžàžČàžàžŽàž (Gunga Din) - àžàž±àžàžàž°àžŁàčàžàžàčàžàž„àž I Shall Sing) (196?)
Alice Swoboda - Potter's Field (1972) B-side of her second single. She released two.
Archie Bell & The Drells - Let's Groove (1975)
Doc Severinsen - Bond Street (1968)
Enoch Light - Bond Street (1969)
FĂłrmula 7 - Bond Street (1968)
Hager Twins - Pizza Man (1979) Written by Eddie Rabbitt.
Peoples Temple Choir - Welcome (1973)
Lafayette - Bond Street (1967)
Lazaro Salazar - Artuditu (1978)
Men Without Hats - Antarctica (1982)
Mouth and Macneal - ABC (1971)
The Folkswingers (featuring Harihar Rao) - Raga Rock (1966)
Richard Simmons - Wake Up (1982)
Richard Simmons - You Can Do It (1982)
The Styx - Soul Flow (1971) Not the Chicago prog band.
The Body Shop Trailer (1972)
The Colours - Cocaine (1968)
The Dave Clark Five - Get It On Now (197?)
The Dave Clark Five - Ruby Baby (197?)
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It's hard to embarrass me. But when I tagged along with some friends to the theater to see Rocky Horror Picture Show, with the toast and the actors in front of the screen acting out the scenes as they played on the screen, I finally felt true embarrassment. True, inescapable discomfort. This would be...1994? Before I was even born. It wasn't Tim Curry. He was excellent. It was the feeling that people, all these young people, will do ANYTHING to belong to something bigger than themselves. We go from one thing to another.
Tim Curry - Paradise Garage (1979) Co-written with DIck Wagner, who wrote or co-wrote Alice Cooper's ballad-ish hits "Only Women Bleed", "I Never Cry", "You And Me" and "How You Gonna See Me Now".
Tim Curry - Working On My Tan (1981)
Tim Curry - Brontosaurus (1978) Written by Roy Wood for the album Looking On, the first Move album with Jeff Lynne. Pretty lethargic, but the original wasn't that peppy either.
Tim Curry - We Went As Far As We Felt Like Going Single (1975) Written by Bob Crewe and Kenny Nolan, who also wrote "My Eyes Adored You" and Labelle's "Lady Marmalade" (both 1974). Sounds pretty familiar, doesn't it? Like a cross between "Evil Ways" by Santana and the Labelle song. Maybe they thought no one would be listening in 2022. But they couldn't imagine you and me, could they?
5th Avenue Buses - Fantastic Voyage (1967) From the album Trip to Gotham City. I might buy this one somewhere down the road. The titles all have something in common. It was 1966. It was a fad, but these records were intended to tweak the guilt of parents.
A Letter Home - Child in Question (1975)
From the record company: What do you get when you mix about a dozen musicians (including members of The Animals & The Police) with a lot of drugs? An acid psych opus! What do you get when you package it in a prefab jacket with stock Christmas art and a festive title? Total confusion! We hypothesize that if you take enough drugs you may think this private press treasure is a holiday album...but weâre not so sure.
One of the artists was Andy Summers, later of The Police, but he doesn't play on this song. The album cover was just lying around the studio, I guess. They put no thought into it at all, again, thinking no one in 2022 would be listening.
Rubber Duckie - A Teenager In Love (1973) 10cc in their nascent stages.
Billy Page - Its Pop (1965) Another rip-off attempt. Boy, this comes off as disdain. In fact, there was a whole industry pushing to keep "hippie" culture irrelevant. Soon, the industry would just subsume the entire thing in TV, music, etc. This might be the same guy that created the above 5th Avenue Buses rip-off. This label also featured Don Randi, who played sessions for more artists than you can shake a stick at.
Bobby Lyle - Shaft (1975)
From Yamaha: Conceived for theaters and similar use, the GX-1 set the electronic keyboard industry on its ear. The first polyphonic synthesizer instrument of its kind, it bridged the gap between organ and synthesizer. The velocity-sensitive keyboards allowed true expression of the voices, a concept never before imagined in electronic organs. The smaller solo keyboard was pressure-sensitive. It weighed over 700 pounds.
From Wikipedia: GX-1 voices were "programmed" onto matchbox-sized cartridges. Each cartridge had 26 screw-sized dials on them to change the VCO, VCF, VCA, and envelope of the voice. 70 cartridges in total were loaded into racks that emerged from the top of the console.
From me: This keyboard featured prominently on Led Zeppelin's In Through The Out Door album. And I don't like it. Also, Stevie Wonder's Songs In The Key of Life. For example, the string-ish intro to "Village Ghetto Land." I mean, I know what he was TRYING to do. The juxtaposition and all that.
Bus Boys - Heart And Soul (1982) For a very brief time, due almost entirely to the ascendence of (and relationship with) Eddie Murphy, The Bus Boys were all over the place in the early '80s. Their schtick was working class, inoffensive, smiling, patriotic, black Rock and Roll. Nothing subversive, nothing offensive. But they were good. This album was their second, and there was just no way to keep this edifice fresh, but I like this version more than the others (Huey Lewis and the News and Exile) but it wasn't enough. Search for their videos on YouTube. They're still around.
Gayle Moran - Magic Spell (1980)
Grupo Solo - A Real Mother For You (1977)
Harry Gullett And The Wheels - The Wondering Man (197?)
Jennie Darren & The Second City Sound - River Deep Mountain High (1969) Jenny Darren would record the original version of Pat Benetar's hit "Heartbreaker". A little more convincingly, if you can believe that. Hear for yourself, ya greedy so-and-so.
Lance Rentzel - Beyond Love (1971)
Lance Rentzel - Lookin' Like Somethin' That it Ain't (1971) On Columbia, no less. A label of prestige and fine taste. And they must have been embarrassed when:
From Wikipedia:
Rentzel was leading the [Dallas Cowboys] in receiving yards, when he was arrested for exposing himself to a 10-year-old girl. At the time the accusation was made, the press revealed a nearly forgotten incident that happened when, as a Minnesota Viking in September 1966, he was charged with exposing himself to two young girls in St. Paul, and pled guilty to the reduced charge of disorderly conduct. He was not sentenced to jail, but merely ordered to seek psychiatric care. Because of the nationwide reaction and publicity from the scandal, his wife, singer and actress Joey Heatherton, divorced him shortly thereafter. Rentzel asked the Cowboys to place him on the inactive list so he could devote his time to settling his personal affairs.[14] He would miss the last three games of the regular season, including the Cowboys' playoff drive to its narrow Super Bowl V loss to the Baltimore Colts. Rentzel finished with 28 receptions (second on the team) for 556 yards (second on the team) with a 19.9-yard average and five touchdowns.
Joey Heatherton was smoking hot. She's on the left. Marty Allen is on the far right. I've played a record of HIS on my show as well.
Lark - Rubber Duckie (1973)
Louie Pascua - Rama's Song - CCP Dance Company Rama Hari Prod_ Ryan Cayabyab
Prince Blackman - Rockers Delight (1980)
Return to Forever - Do You Ever (1977) Hard to fathom: An album like this reached Top 30 status on the album chart. It was a different time.
Rex Griffin - Everybody's Trying To Be My Baby (1935 - 1946) I bet you didn't know that Carl Perkins didn't write this.
From Wikipedia:
"Everybody's Tryin' to Be My Baby" was written and recorded in 1936 by Decca artist Rex Griffin. On March 2, 1936 at the Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, Louisiana, it was among ten self-penned tracks recorded that day by the recently-signed artist, accompanied only by his guitar. It was released on Decca 5294 in November 1936 to little notice. Griffin copyrighted it on January 22, 1944.[4]
In March 1956, Carl Lee Perkins, who had released "Blue Suede Shoes" the previous December, was working on follow up material at Sun Studios in Memphis, Tennessee, and brought in a song called "Everybody's Trying to Be My Baby", that he had written. Shortly after it was recorded, Perkins and his brother were in a serious auto accident, and the song and album were not released until May 1957. Perkins was listed as the sole writer when Knox Music, Inc. published it on November 12, 1957. It is unknown, but doubtful, that Griffin ever confronted Perkins, or even learned of the matter, since he died two years later, while the 1950s non-album oriented radio environment prevailed. In retrospect, Perkins contributed a modern arrangement, along with some minor lyric changes.
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Bruford - Age Of Information (1980) I guess, if I'm going to call the Bowie band of 1975-1980 the best band of the decade, this group would come close to that. With the inimitable style of Jeff Berlin on bass and the wonderful Bill Bruford on drums, this album might have been the closest Prog came to the elusive jazz/pop hybrid bred into the bone for so many of the Prog hopefuls of the era.
Jan Hammer Group - Don't You Know (1977)
Can - I Want More (1976) Can was a sometimes impenetrable German Prog outfit. Their music in the early part of the decade wasn't something I could say I liked, even though I tried like heck. This was a single, which kinda makes sense. All Prog was catching a terminal disease at this juncture, but no one knew it.
Renaissance - Flight (1983) I messed this song up on my show, but this is not a bad record. Renaissance had some great moments in the '70s, and if you are interested, go find Scheherazade and Other Stories from 1975. Like Close to The Edge, it only has three songs, but I think that record is their apex by a mile, and I like the other albums. This was from their last "Golden Era", Time-Line album, although it had been a while since they could get a record company to pony up the do-re-mi for an orchestra.
Discogs: Renaissance was originally formed in London, UK, in 1969 by ex-Yardbirds vocalist Keith Relf and drummer Jim McCarty who wanted to explore a new sound blending elements of rock, folk, and classical music. Relf assumed the role of guitarist, and they were joined by bassist Louis Cennamo, keyboardist John Hawken, and vocalist Jane Relf. This lineup recorded the first self-titled album and most of the second album, Illusion (1971). A rapid series of personnel changes followed. Guitarist and composer Michael Dunford first appeared on Illusion. Before his departure from the band Hawken recruited new vocalist Annie Haslam. By 1972, when the Renaissance recorded their third album, Prologue, none of the original members remained though McCarty still wrote music for the band.By 1973 the lineup had stabilized with Haslam, Dunford, keyboardist John Tout, bassist and vocalist Jon Camp, and drummer Terry Sullivan. This lineup produced a string of relatively successful albums over the remainder of the decade. They had one Top 10 single in the U.K., "Northern Lights", from the album A Song For All Seasons (1978).By 1980 Sullivan and Tout departed leaving Haslam, Dunford, and Camp as the stable core of the group with various other musicians coming and going through the early and mid-1980s. The group released two albums, Camera Camera (1981) and Time-Line (1983) which were not well received by either fans or critics. Renaissance went into the studio to record a further album but found themselves without a label willing to release it. Material for this album as well as discarded tracks from the sessions for the previous three releases finally saw the light of day as Songs From Renaissance Days in 1997. [Ed: Which I gobbled up the day it came out, as there was no other domestic CD of this group available at the time.]
Yes - The Revealing Science of God (1973) There are moments in this song that, to me, are just amazing, transcendent, and still cause chills maybe 40 years after the first time I heard them ("Getting over overhanging trees...") like almost all of Yes' epic side-long monsters. There's a reason Prog fans like me are filled with sadness that the people who made this magic for us cannot seem to just stop recreating or trying to recreate these moments with an ever-shifting group of lesser talents. The Beatles did it right. They just stopped, resisted the potentially lucrative urge to make themselves stand there again, together, and recreate sounds from which they had long ago moved past. I like this. There's a real fire that people might have forgotten these very young men possessed.
King Crimson - Thela Hun Jinjeet (1981) So this might be #3. Tony Levin played on some later Yes albums, as well as Peter Gabriel (he plays the Chapman Stick, a strapped upright instrument with both tenor and bass strings). He also played with Paul Simon and hundreds of others. Robert Fripp played with David Bowie on his Berlin Trilogy, and Bill Bruford was amazing in Yes, his own band, Bruford, and...Genesis during a tour! Bowie and...Adrian Belew!! Who is here after stints with Talking Heads, Zappa, Tom Tom Club....it goes on and on, but I really like anything Bill Bruford played on.
Bruford - Gothic 17 (1980) I've played stuff from Bruford's first record with Annette Peacock. This is in that funky, other-worldly combination of jazz and pop. I love Jeff Berlin's voice. I wish they had dome more records together. Go find "Joe Frazier" off this album. Whoo boy.
Gentle Giant - Interview (1976)
Genesis - One For The Vine (1977) Genesis at their peak. It's hard to believe it now, but this was composed solely by Tony Banks. The scope and drama, pathos, and virtuosity amaze me especially when one considers that he (and they) never created anything this beautiful again. Who was the best keyboard player in Prog? I think about it and Kerry Minnear comes to mind, as he really was the creative force in Gentle Giant. But neither he, Keith Emerson, Rick Wakeman, or any of the others, as good as they were, authored something as wonderful as this.
Rush - Jacob's Ladder (1980) I don't care what you say. This album is peak Rush. After years of album/tour/album/tour, "The Spirit of Radio" captured their amazing musicianship, their cool humor, and the fact that you could be groovy in 7/8. I think of this record as the end of the beginning, but not in a good way. I played this in a band once. We were terrible. I had a tiny Casio keyboard (it was all we could afford) and I couldn't play the last bit on bass with anything resembling speed. Our drummer was great.
Discogs: Rush's seventh studio album.The cover depicted the famous incorrect headline "Dewey Defeats Truman" on a newspaper in the bottom left corner.However, the Chicago Tribune (the paper that originally published the error) pressured the band to remove the headline. Some versions appear altered with either "Dewei Defeats Truman" or a blanked section.The billboards in the distance (mid-right) originally read "Coca-Cola." However, the cola company objected to the use of their logo and the cover was changed to display the band members names in a similar typestyle to the original logo.Trivia: The woman on the cover of this album is model Paula Turnbull. Contrary to rumor, the guy waving in the background on the cover is not one of the members of Rush, it's actually Hugh Syme, the art director of the album.
UK - In The Dead of Night/By The Light Of Day/Presto Vivace and Reprise (1978) One of the first Prog supergroups, members of other big groups smooshed together. In this case, John Wetton of King Crimson, Roxy Music, Uriah Heep, Mogul Thrash, etc., Bill Bruford, the amazing Allan Holdsworth (Soft Machine, Gong) , and Eddie Jobson (Zappa, etc.) make a great album. Then Bill leaves, and Terry Bozzio (Zappa) records another record and a live album, and then...Asia.
Joe Simon - Before The Night Is Over (1977)
I don't consider The Moody Blues or Pink Floyd prog.
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Were The Moody Blues "prog"? I don't think so. They weren't virtuosos in any sense, although they were all very competent (or somewhat competent - Graeme Edge wasn't asked to do much, really) but they WERE unique and extremely popular. And every album has a treat or two. At least the ones before 1983. All you had to do was light a marijuana joint with the pot leaves and let the gentle mellotron patina take you to a new land. I guess the key to The Moody Blues' success was that they never asked too much of the listener (like Yes or King Crimson), but never insulted them (like Chicago would, eventually.) In 1975 they all recorded solo albums, and they were also pretty good.
Justin Hayward - Forever Autumn (1978)
Ray Thomas - Hey Mama Life (1975)
Graeme Edge Band - Somethin' We'd Like To Say (1975) Trivia! Barry St. John sang backup on this album. She appeared on "Dark Side of the Moon" and of course, she was in Les Humphries Singers.
Graeme Edge Band - Be My Eyes (1977)
John Lodge - Into to Children of Rock 'n' Roll (1977)
John Lodge - Children of Rock 'n' Roll (1977) Featuring Kenny Jones on drums. He was in The Small Faces, then The Faces with Rod Stewart, and then released a single in 1974 ("Ready or Not") and then this. He also played in Paul McCartney's supergroup Rockestra around this time. Maybe this is where he met Pete Townshend.
Mike Pinder - The Promise (1976) My favorite Moody released the blandest solo record of the lot. Maybe he found religion and not just mysticism. Whatever the case, I was disappointed by this. "Solar heaven?"
Mike Pinder - Free As A Dove (1976) This was co-produced by Robert Margouleff, one of the main forces behind Stevie Wonder's golden era. He and his partner Malcolm Cecil brought (and tamed) synthesizers from their unwieldy beginnings into unlikely mainstream dominance. He worked with Billy Preston, The Isley Brothers, Devo, Syreeta Wright, and Stevie. Also, a curious album was released in 1980 by a group that was ubiquitous at the time, The Bus Boys. Remember? Their hit was "(The Boys Are) Back In Town." They recorded a song with Eddie Murphy in 1988 called "Never Giving Up." I wonder what happened to them to stop their momentum. Does either of you know offhand?
John Lodge - Natural Avenue (1977)
The Graeme Edge Band - Paradise Ballroom (1977)
The Graeme Edge Band - We Like To Do It (1974)
The Moody Blues - The Word/Om (1968)
Ray Thomas - Adam and I (1975)
The Moody Blues - The Balance (1970) This song was co-written by Edge and Thomas. Most Moody Blues songs were written by one member.
The Moody Blues - In The Beginning/Lovely To See You (1969) This record came with a booklet that included all the lyrics and credits, ornately written. To wit:
The Moody Blues - The Dream/Have You Heard (1969)
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Gilbert O'Sullivan - We Will (1972) Just a nice pre-'US fame' song I thought you might like.
Michael Johnson - Rooty Toot Toot For The Moon (1973) His big hit was "Bluer Than Blue" in 1978. Produced by Chris Dedrick.
Merry Clayton - Sly Suite (1980) Arranged by Chris Dedrick. Merry Clayton was the backup singer on the Stones' "Gimme Shelter".
From Brute Force's 1980 album (released in 2009), Planetwork. All tracks were arranged by Chris Dedrick.
Driving to the Stars
Fantasy of Nationality
Spinning Rock Lullaby
Spinning Rock
Our man recorded one solo record in 1972 (Be Free), but it wasn't released until 2000.
Chris Dedrick - Begin Work
Chris Dedrick - I'll Go Away
Chris Dedrick - I'm a New Man
Chris Dedrick - Someday
Halo - Have You Ever Felt That Feeling (1981) Produced by Lawrence Hilton Jacobs of Welcome Back, Kotter fame.
Halo - Let Me Do It (1981)
Hudson and Landry - Hippie and the Redneck (1971)
Carpenters - California Dreaminâ (1967/1999)
Hudson and Landy - The Gas Man (1974)
Pere Ubu - 30 Seconds Over Tokyo (1975)
Pere Ubu - Heart Of Darkness (1975)
Rob Agerbeek - Ob-la-di Ob-la-da (1973)
Rob Agerbeek - The Word (1973)
The Chantels - It's Just Me (1966)
Y Dyniadon Ynfyd Hirfelyn Tesog - Dyddiau Fu (1970)
Gene Marshall - Shake Your Good Stuff (?)
Jeff Reynolds - Music For Four Footers (?)
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Stevie Wonder - Light My Fire (1970) Listen to that bass player.
Syreeta Wright - Spinnin' and Spinnin' (1974) No one was EVER as hot as Stevie in the '70s, and the album this came from proves that even occupied with his own music, he can lovingly produce one of the best female-sung records of the '70s. I love this factoid from Wikipedia:
Three artists who performed on this album (Stevie Wonder, Deniece Williams, Michael Sembello) would all have Billboard number one songs ("I Just Called to Say I Love You", "Let's Hear It for the Boy", and "Maniac", respectively) within a year of each other, a decade after this album's release. Another artist on this album, Ollie Brown of Ollie & Jerry, would have a Billboard top ten single, "Breakin'... There's No Stopping Us", in the same one-year period.
The song "Come And Get This Stuff" was originally intended for Rufus, but lead singer Chaka Khan refused to do the song. Instead, Stevie wrote "Tell Me Something Good" for them which appeared on their album Rags to Rufus.
There's no word to describe how good he was in this five-year period.
This song made it to #49 in the UK, and never a peep in the US, which is a shame.
Gentle Giant - Weekend Cowboy (1970) I love their sound on these early demos. Less prog than they would become, a sort of The Band meets Harry Chapin. Through the filter of England, of course.
Godley and Creme - Random Brainwaves/I Pity Inanimate Objects (1979) When Gary Storm played this on Buffalo's WIZR 107.7, I had never heard anything like it. I still love what they did with the backing vocals.
Jimmy "Bo" Horne - Dance Across The Floor (1978)
Lawrence Hilton Jacobs - Larry's Theme (1978) He was Freddie "Boom Boom" Washington on Welcome Back, Kotter and Michael Jackson's father Joe on The Jacksons: An American Dream ("Get the switch!") but I actually find his albums in the late '70s very listenable, especially this. So much shit came out from TV stars around that era. Scott Baio was the worst.
Les Humphries Singers - Mexico (1972) Included here because doing this show helped me discover them. My one-man raison d'ĂȘtre is to make you a believer! It's not that good. Just a strange pre-sampling curio.
Nino Tempo and April Stevens - Love Story (1972) From Buffalo, NY! Their biggest hit was "Deep Purple" from 1963. They were siblings. God, she was beautiful. Her first record came out in 1950 (!) but her biggest solo hit was "Teach Me, Tiger" from 1960. She reprised this in 1965, but this was virtually the same recording, with dialog implying that she had kidnapped one of The Beatles in order to seduce him. Just wow. I love it.
Men At Work - Down Under (original, non-hit version) (1980)
A brief retelling of The Greg Ham Story. Don't Do Drugs.
Mudcrutch - Don't Do Me Like That (original, non-hit version) (1974) The almost note-for-note prototype for the Tom Petty hit a few years later.
The Osmonds - War in Heaven (1973)
Sammy Davis Jr. - John Shaft (1972) Ok, ok. Shaft. Ok! Shut up and let me finish my dinner.
Sha Na Na PSA (1972)
Pink Floyd - Scream Thy Last Scream (1967) I was surprised to learn that Nick Mason sang this.
Bee Gees - Lovers (1976) This is a very strange and wonderful album track from a band on its....third ascension?
Sensational Alex Harvey Band - The Dolphins (1979) I love this song as much as any I have ever played on D-Sides. I never would have heard it if not for this show.
The Langley Schools Music Project - The Long and Winding Road (1977) You should read about this. I think I read about this in RE/Search magazine.
The Residents - Give it To Someone Else (1980) Every song on The Commercial Album is about 60 seconds long. There are 20 per side.
Wild Cherry - Baby Don't You Know (1977) A wonderful, horrible attempt to recapture the lightning of the last single, "Play That Funky Music". THIS is how you follow up a fluke hit:
One more timeWell we play that funky musicAnd we were looking so good yeahElectrified funky feelingWas coming down like I thought it wouldSo we went out on the road yeahTry to get ourselves aheadAnd on the way I was surprised to discoverThat all those funky peopleHad been misled, they were shouting outBlack? NO! White? Right!, Oh what a sight!I really didn't know the suckers was whiteBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soulBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowBaby don't you know, Baby don't you knowThat the honkey's got soul
Roger Nichols and Small Circle of Friends - Don't Go Breaking My Heart (1968) So beautiful, especially the "Middle 8". Just amazing harmonies.
The Free Design - Day Breaks (2001) This will be my funeral song. I don't WANT a funeral. Just a little party for people to remember funny stories about me. In life, very few people are still in touch with me in an earnest sense. People have come and gone and sometimes I look around and wonder if someone should have bought me a ball gag long ago. Still, even after all the mistakes I have made in my life and my dealings with people I have lost, I know deep down that some people will be genuinely touched by the fact that we met and decided to be in each other's lives for as long as we had. If you listen to this song and put yourself in that place, celebrate the people who DID choose to be with you, no matter WHAT you said. Everyone is broken. Everyone. You're not alone.
Co-written by my friend Bruce Dedrick.
The Free Design - Friendly Man (1971)
Adriano Celentano - Prisencolinensinainciusol (1972) This song is being used for a commercial in the US. I like to think it's because of me.
The Beatles - Revolution (Take...Your Knickers Off!) (1968)
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Joe Simon- Come Back Home (1974) I have to play you a Joe Simon song that was used as a sample for a VERY famous Hip Hop song. Not many people know.
Helen Reddy - I Am Woman (1971) The original, superior (to my ears) version. She has appeared on my show singing in ads for cigarettes in Australia, as well as later misses like "Handsome Dudes."
Barbara, The Grey Witch - Witchâs Love Song (1971)
ObituaryBarbara Roehrs, also known as Barbara the Gray Witch of Raven House, passed away on Wednesday, June 30, 2021, at Healthwin in South Bend, IN, after suffering the long-term effects of a stroke. She was born Barbara Ann Hostetler on May 9, 1944, in South Bend. She was the youngest child to John and Anna May Hostetler, both of whom preceded her in death.
Barbara was a talented and accomplished artist. She was a larger-than-life personality and public figure. She hosted a U93 radio show and appeared yearly at the Niles Haunted House. She was a beloved friend and counselor to many and had a large and loyal following. She was an animal lover. She loved spending time with her dogs â especially her beloved âfamiliar,â Gabby. She also loved back road adventures in her Volkswagen Beetle, meeting new people, and seeing new places. She loved fishing and having a good time.
The family would like to extend a thank-you to the Heart to Heart Hospice team and the healthcare workers at Healthwin for caring for Barbara so well.
So for my money, the best band of the 1965-1980 period was the band that David Bowie assembled for his Station To Station/Low/"Heroes"/Lodger/Stage phase. They were loose and tight. Funky and capable. With him as a singer, there's no way the band could lose. But these dudes were special. Carlos Alomar, Dennis Davis, and George Murray. Robert Fripp and Adrian Belew functioned at a right-angle in the proceedings, but that, too, made the ensemble special. I rank them higher than Led Zeppelin for their harmonies, Bowie's lyrics, and just the bravery. Higher (ever so slightly) than The Beatles for their live performances, and the fact that their music was really one guy showing up with an unfinished idea and the band using the ideas as clay. They could jam but they never recorded anything that wasn't precise and good fun.
David Bowie - Fashion (1980)
David Bowie - Itâs No Game (1980)
David Bowie âą Station To Station (Live) (1978)
Children of the Night - Dracula's Undying Love (1976)
This collection of 1970's "Rock & Roll" songs tells the story of a big party at Count Dracula's house. The between-song skits have a pretty cut-rate vibe throughout (Dracula sounds remarkably like Dan Ackroyd doing his SNL Yortuk Festrunk "Wild & Crazy Guy" character, The Mummy introduces himself with the lyrics to the Bob McFadden & Dor single "The Mummy")...
Count Lorry & The Biters - Frankenstein Stomp (1974)
David Bowie - âHeroesâ (Live) (1978)
Electric Food - Nosferatu (1970) German heavy prog rock band which included all Lucifer's Friend musicians except John Lawton. You know who John Lawton was. He was in Les Humphries Singers! Sang their biggest hit, "Mama Loo" and enjoyed a stint with Uriah Heep.
Dick (Ghoulardy) Knight - His Ghoul (1973) By the time this single was released, the name "Ghoulardi" was owned by Storer Broadcasting out of Cleveland, OH. Hence the different name. Go here to read about Ghoulardi, a story that could never happen now. You can see the "T.K. Productions" on the bottom of the label here. Read their story. You wouldn't know it from this but T.K. ended up owning the charts in the late '70s. The part The Bee Gees didn't devour, that is.
Iggy Pop - Sister Midnight (1977)
Jimmie John - What Happens When We Die? (1964)
Jo Banks and the Soul Train - The Toy Shop Killer (1979)
David Bowie - What In The World (Live) (1978)
Johnny Fever - Zombie (1967)
Mickey and His Mice - Cracker Jack (1970)
Discogs: Wilfred "Mickey" Fields was a saxophonist from the Baltimore area, a local legend who refused to play outside his Baltimore area, although he was invited several times to take the road for tours with many famous bands. He is recognized as one of Baltimore's best-known jazz saxophonists and has mentored many other jazz musicians, including Paul H Brown. Mickey created the "Monday Night Jam Session" at Sportsman's Lounge, allowing many young jazz musicians to perform. He was also known for his constant encouragement of young artists. Fields began his career with the blues jump band The Tilters. As a solo artist, he recorded on Atlantic Records and Groove Merchant. Howard Earl Washington, a Baltimore area jazz drummer, was another member of the Tilters. The Tilters played for the great Ethel Ennis. Fields then recorded several songs with his group "Mickey And His Mice", entitled "Cracker Jack", known as one of the 100 most funky titles ever created and the popular "Little Green Apples". He then recorded an album with the great Richard "Groove" Holmes, for the label Edmar (New Jersey). Fields also played with his talented sister, Shirley Fields, who has been a singer for many years and who has also played an important role in the Baltimore Jazz Company.
Monsters - Transylvania Disco Hustle (1977) Produced by the same guy that produced "Dracula's Undying Love." In fact, three of the guys that played on that record played on this!
Screen Idols - Blind Man (1979) Notable for the presence of one Woody Woodmansey, ex-Spiders From Mars drummer. Right after Woody Woodmansey's U-Boat.
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Gaylord & Holiday - Dixie (1977) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show.
Santiago - Nice And Slow (1976) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show.
Bobby Hatfield - Messin' In Muscle Shoals (1971) One half of the Righteous Brothers records some forgettable pseudo-Americana, but you can't take the pure show-biz mawkishness out of the delivery.
Bruce Haack & Miss Nelson â (Excerpt from) Dance, Sing, And Listen Again & Again! (1963) Included here because this was an early attempt to use synthesizers for more than burps and squeaks. A children's album that's pretty strange but not bad.
Charles Dodge â (Excerpt from) Synthesized Voices (1976) Liner notes: "A1 and B realized at the Columbia University Center of Computing Activities and the Nevis LaboratoriesA2 realized at the Bell Telephone Laboratories"
Pretty strange synthesized vocal music.
Cradle - Man Is A Man (1970) The Quatro sisters record a kind of Moody Blues meets Blue Cheer hybrid of prog. Suzi Quatro quit to become a solo star (mostly in England) and as Leather Tuscadero on Happy Days. Patti Quatro appeared on Fanny's Rock and Roll Survivors album. The single from that album was a cover of "I've Had It", which I remember them performing on American Bandstand, but it didn't help. I still felt kinda funny watching them.
Don Powell - Black Man (1972)
Tronquista - Hoffa's Blues (1966) Rare 1966 blues release by an anonymous R&B / blues singer in a tribute to Teamsterâs President Jimmy Hoffa who was very popular with African-Americans for his stand on equal rights. It was pressed in 1966 for the Teamsterâs convention in Miami and was available only at this event. The name Tronquista is the name used for the Teamsters union in Puerto Rico so this may be a clue to the identity of the artist and suggests it was privately pressed in the Miami area rather than union headquarters in Detroit.
John Strand - Remembering Laci (2003)
From WFMU:
"Remembering Laci" was written and performed by John F. Strand, a guard at Tracy, California's Deuel Vocational Institution.
Here's the Wikipedia article.
Lila - Step Into Time (1978)
Liner notes:
Dear Friend,
We are happy you are listening to our songs of the Mother. This album was inspired by the ideals of Sri Ramakrishna (1836-1886) and his wife Sarada Devi (1853-1920), great devotees of the mother, who dedicated their lives to loving tolerance and appreciation between devotees of all religions and all paths. "All the main religions and spiritual paths are true", Ramakrishna said, after practicing 80 of them one by one. "God is Form and Formless Mother, and Father, Son, Friend, Beloved. He is available in whatever way the individual heart yearns for him". We hope our songs help you in your own way. We bow to your soul and individuality.
Everyday day at noon, we pray for a new world of Love and Harmony. Join with us if you would like.
Lila
Lou Christie - Mickey's Monkey (1969) You know I am a big fan (for various reasons) of Lou Christie's Buddah Records period. From the late '60s to the early '70s, he made some pretty odd recordings, but he also made the wonderful Paint America Love. This was the album before that.
The Mam'selles - Oye Coma Va (1969)
Voodou Juju - The VooDou Ju Ju Obsession Part 1 (1969)
Richard O'Brien - Shock Treatment (1981) You kids love that Rocky Horror Picture Show. But you might not know is that there was a sequel. It was called Shock Treatment. It was not very good. And it went virtually unnoticed. In fact, it only showed at midnight movies (as did the Rocky Horror zeitgeist in time). But without the electric Tim Curry on screen, it was just another "let's make a move, guys!" dynamic. I saw RHPS once and I felt horribly embarrassed. And it takes a lot to embarrass a man who mixed plaids with stripes. I cannot imagine this. This version of the theme song is not on the OST, as it is slightly more radio-friendly (in its time) than the cast version.
Bobby Pickett and Peter Ferrara - Star Drek (1976) Yeah, the same Bobby Pickett that had a big hit with "Monster Mash". That one oddball hit kept him in cheap capes and attempts at all sorts of permutations, including comedy and disco.
Stephen Kalinich - If You Knew (1969) In 1969, he recorded his only album, A World of Peace Must Come, with production by Brian Wilson. It was unreleased until 2008. The Beach Boys appear on some of the tracks from the album. While under contract as an artist signed to the Beach Boys' Brother Records, Kalinich co-wrote several songs released by the group including "All I Want to Do", "Be Still", "Little Bird", as well as "A Time to Live in Dreams" with Dennis Wilson. Many Beach Boys completists are unaware of their collaborations with Kalinich and Charles Lloyd. These people are idiots.
Stephen Kalinich - The Magic Hand (1969)
Stop Smoking...Stop Over-Eating With Reveen (1978) Excerpt from this nutty record out of Canada. Peter Reveen quickly gained fame across North America with his stage shows.AKA Reveen The Impossibilist.
Supernatural Family Band - Thank You (Falettenme) (1976) "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)" was a 1969 hit for Sly and the Family Stone. This is a crazy cover with young girls offering up the least soulful interpretation since Ann Margret. But somehow all the craziness works for me. I don't know. The tuba? The harmonica?
The Average Disco Band - I Want You (She So Heavy) (1976) A remnant from the Amherst Records Story show. Listen closely and you can hear a swarthy male voice intone "J'taime". Maybe some Serge Gainsbourg floating around? This song bears almost no resemblance to the Beatles version.
The B.C. & M. Choir - Stealing In The Name Of The Lord (1969) "B.C.& M." stands for "Baptist, Catholic & Methodist Choir."
The Eric Burdon Band - City Boy (1975)
The Mighty M.C.'s - Drugs, Don't Get Involved (1986)
The Minute Men - Please Keep The Beatles In England (1964)
The United States of America - Osamu's Birthday (1968) To be rerecorded by Joe Byrd and the Field Hippies the following year. In THAT version, the vocals were recorded phonetically with backward backing, then reversed. Interesting, but she was no Dorothy Moskowitz.
Bruce Haack & Miss Nelson â (Excerpt from) Dance, Sing, And Listen Again & Again!
Bill Niles and His GoodTime Band - Bric-a-Brac Man (1967)
Bill Spiller - Hot Pants Girls (1971)
Byron MacGregor - How Good You Have It In America (1974)
Carol Channing & Jimmy C. Newman - Lousiana Cajun Rock Band (1978)
Senator Sam Ervin - Bridge Over Troubled Water (1974)
Stop Smoking With Reveen Excerpt (LP)
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